Ship looked great from the outside a little unusual but we were excited to go, we had prioritie boarding and could not find any direction to use this perk, the lines were enormous we finally got on board and waited a while to get to our ... Read More

Ship looked great from the outside a little unusual but we were excited to go, we had prioritie boarding and could not find any direction to use this perk, the lines were enormous we finally got on board and waited a while to get to our cabin..here was a surprise a bathroom that wasn’t a bathroom! Neither my wife or I appreciated the European style of the room with the deconstructed bathroom and lame curtain dividing the bedroom from the toilet facilities. And for that reason alone we will be much more selective of the cabin layout, I certainly will not book on the Epic again, the Shows were fantastic. Entertaining,funny and worthy of Broadway... dining was its usual wonderful experience food taste and presentation were wonderful. The ports were also enjoyable I was surprised with Grand Cayman very nice! Been to Nassau enough not to get off the ship but my wife and her friend did go ashore. The private isle Great stirrup Cay was great. The weather was a little cool this time of year so if we cruise in the winter again it will be to ports a bit further south disembarkation was efficient and speedy it seems they were more anxious to get us off the ship than to allow us on Read Less

Had a great time aboard the Dawn - Only 1800 onboard, in part because it was a repositioning cruise - also some concerns about PR after Hurricane Maria. Loved St Thomas - bought 1L of vodka at Pueblo supermarket near cruise terminal and ... Read More

Had a great time aboard the Dawn - Only 1800 onboard, in part because it was a repositioning cruise - also some concerns about PR after Hurricane Maria. Loved St Thomas - bought 1L of vodka at Pueblo supermarket near cruise terminal and visited Sapphire Beach for the day - Spent the day on a chaise lounge on the serenity pool deck at the resort. Iguanas seemed to get closer everytime I blinked until they were under my chair and would NOT leave! Day 2 in Antigua I caught bus # 22 to Valley Church Beach - for $1.50. Beautiful beach with a bit of a pebbly wave break however, so seniors with mobility issues may choose another beach. Back downtown we took Bus #17 to Nelson's Dockyard - Didn't go in but bought a few beer for $4, before riding back downtown to the casino just beside the cruise terminal for free wifi! Got picked to play "Deal or No Deal" in the evening and won $77 onboard credit. Day 3 in beautiful Martinique - Caught the local ferry across to L'Anse de L'an - and went to Coco's resort to snorkel, then down the road 10" to another larger beach - had a beer there and used their free wifi. Day 4 was spent at the Boatyard in Barbados - a $5 cab ride and $20 to get in. The free turtle boat snorkelling turned out to be "turtle-free". When I asked "where are the turtles, they told me that there hadn't been any since the hurricane" Lol. Still lots of fun, snorkelling 30" over two sunken shipwrecks in crystal-clear water. I tried the shark-bite after reading someone else's recommendation, but shoulda stuck to a Carib beer, as I couldn't taste any hard liquor in it. Managed to make up for this though, by attending the art auction and champagne guzzling. Although I didn't buy an art installation I did sample 5 flutes! Day 5 found us in St Lucia, and I chose to go with Ambrose Spence Tours to Sugar Beach. 35 min speedboat ride found us first at the beach and got dibs on a tiki-covered chair. For $91 Ambrose promised free lunch, rum punch, soda, and water and boy did they deliver. Awesome nosh, with several "Pitons" beer - named after the two Pitons (Mountain peaks) on site. Rum "punch" was spiced with fresh cinnamon, and nutmeg. Had a great day snorkelling, and relaxing. However, as we headed back - one of the engines broke down on the boat and the driver informed us that Ambrose was coming with another boat to pick us up. After 5 beer and two rum punch, transferring boats in the waves was not pleasant. They poured us a drink of rum punch, then hit the gas to make time and we laughed in delight as the rum punch splashed all over the people behind us. Unfortunately one lady sitting in the bow, fell off her seat as the boat pounded and bounced over the waves, and she could not get back up. Eventually the front of the boat went quite high up in the air and slammed down with a bone jarring smash. At this point Ambrose cut the throttle, as everyone yelled at him to slow down! he lady climbed back up on the seat and her husband was NOT happy. We did make it back to port with 10 minutes grace before the gate closed. As we disembarked, Ambrose said "So apart from that little glitch did everyone enjoy themselves?" LOL Needless to say nobody tipped him. To be fair I had read a single review prior to booking that talked about one of their boats breaking down and them having to get a small part delivered, but chose to disregard it as all other reviews were great. Buyer beware - the cruise ships don't wait for private excursions. Nuff said. Day 6 found us in St Kitts and not having anything in particular to do, I tagged along with a couple that I met at the bus terminal and caught a bus to Brimstone Fortress National Park. Didn't realize the fortress was 800 m straight up, and a 1/2 mile walk, but the view was exceptional, and the beer tasted great after the hike up and down! Last few days at sea found me getting pulled up on stage to sing with Natalie Toro (Like the bull, or the lawnmower) :) which was kinda fun, and then decided to do a bit of standup comedy at the "Audience Participation" night at the Bliss Lounge - telling a historical Inuit cultural story. :) Only misgivings were having to wait 35 min to be picked up at the air terminal as my "host" had gone to lunch with her Mom, and not being able to access the sauna after a workout without buying a 10 day spa pass for $246 US. Food and entertainment were great though and met a lot of very nice people onboard. Read Less

The Dawn was a fair bit smaller than our last ship, the Epic and consequently a very different experience. What the Dawn lacked in entertainment, it made up for in great ports and excursions. The food was very good, the service excellent! ... Read More

The Dawn was a fair bit smaller than our last ship, the Epic and consequently a very different experience. What the Dawn lacked in entertainment, it made up for in great ports and excursions. The food was very good, the service excellent! Our steward, Jonar, was a delight, meticulous, helpful, friendly and informative. In fact, all the staff were friendly and extremely helpful. The facilities were kept very clean. The speciality dining was very good, with Los Lobos getting a big thumbs up, the Bistro very good, Cagney good but Moderno a disappointment. The complimentary dining was very good as well with the Venetian getting a huge thumbs up, Osheeans very good and the Garden Cafe pretty good, although the coffe was way too strong. My only complaint On the whole cruise, and it is really minor!! is that the deck chairs were not put out early enough. All in all, had a very good trip. Would definitely take this ship again and this cruise again! Read Less

I selected this cruise just a few weeks before sailing due to an excellent fare for a solo traveler. After driving to Tampa (where the ship would ultimately return), I flew to San Juan the day of the cruise. As with most cruises from San ... Read More

I selected this cruise just a few weeks before sailing due to an excellent fare for a solo traveler. After driving to Tampa (where the ship would ultimately return), I flew to San Juan the day of the cruise. As with most cruises from San Juan, the ship departs late in the evening, leading to long embarkation times that tend to reduce crowds: that was the case here too and I was in my room within 15 minutes of arriving at the port. The cabin was clean and ready for me, and my friendly room steward kept in that way throughout the cruise.
I ate exclusively at the complimentary restaurants and buffets, so I cannot speak to the premium restaurants. I found the food overall to adequate, but not outstanding. I didn't see a particularly large variety of food over the 10 days, and selections I made I found to be a bit on the bland side, but I never left hungry and I did not experience what I would consider a bad meal.
As a repositioning cruise in January, I saw very few children onboard. I would say the typical passenger was an older adult, at or near retirement. With this as a backdrop, I would says this was a sedate, quiet cruise experience. I rarely waited in a line for anything, always had plenty of deck chairs to choose from, and had my pick of seats in the theater for shows.
I only attended 2 shows (a comedian and a magic act), and I enjoyed both.
I purchased two shore excursions, both catamaran sail and snorkel trip. I enjoyed both and, with a 10% discount I received for being a Latitudes Gold guest, the prices were not unreasonable. The personnel on both excursions were knowledgeable and friendly.
Overall, I think I received good value for my money on this sailing, and I would do it again. Read Less

We are not new to cruising, having sailed on Disney 1 time, and Royal Caribbean 4 times. We have taken 2 other cruises on Norwegian, Getaway and Sky, in the past year and a half and really enjoyed them. This ship was totally different and ... Read More

We are not new to cruising, having sailed on Disney 1 time, and Royal Caribbean 4 times. We have taken 2 other cruises on Norwegian, Getaway and Sky, in the past year and a half and really enjoyed them. This ship was totally different and a disappointment. The ship is laid out poorly. IConcierge menu listed filet and lobster at Wasabi, however, when we got to the restaurant, we were told that the new ships chef had done away with lobster. The iConcierge is not up to date with what is on board, nor does it tell you what time various venues open. I was told that I had to wear long pants to dine in LeBistro, however a man was seated wearing flip flops. I was also told that I had to wear long pants in the Manhattan Room, however, my wife and 20 year old daughter were admitted with shorts and flip flops. There is no waterfront on this ship, which we liked on the other two Norwegian ships that we have been on. There were not as many outdoor bars as on their other ships. Read Less

Our church, Shiloh Temple House of God (Cleveland, OH), chose this cruise line and I am so glad that we did. I have never been on a cruise before, and Norwesian Cruise line made my first experience very memorable. I would definitely ... Read More

Our church, Shiloh Temple House of God (Cleveland, OH), chose this cruise line and I am so glad that we did. I have never been on a cruise before, and Norwesian Cruise line made my first experience very memorable. I would definitely guarantee this cruise line to others, and I will definitely cruise with you again in the future. From the food to the service to the cleanliness of the facilities, everything was better than what I expected. Every staff member was helpful in the areas that they controlled and they did everything in their power to make the guests happy. This is very rare and I give a thumbs up to everyone that took part in our safety, health and well being. You allowed our church to have service on the ship on Saturday, and the ship’s pastor joined in with us. You have made a very big impression on our church family and we pray that you have a safe transition into this new year of 2018! Read Less

An older ship, it has an awkward layout (for instance, rear MDR is only accessible by rear stairs/elevator; several floors cannot be walked tip-to-tip without going outside; some spaces are buried inside orthers).
The ship needs new ... Read More

An older ship, it has an awkward layout (for instance, rear MDR is only accessible by rear stairs/elevator; several floors cannot be walked tip-to-tip without going outside; some spaces are buried inside orthers).
The ship needs new paint, furnishings, and carpet. Looks tired. Cleanliness an issue.
Our cruise was used as a training exercise for PR Chinese staff headed to the Joy. Some were fine and knew what they were doing; many were not ready for customers.
More generally, service was very slow--especially in restaurants. Food was middling, with no memorable meals particularly good or bad.
Drinks portions very small--always order a "double" to get what one might expect a single to be on land.
The ports on a repo-cruise are catch-as-catch can but the crew struggled to set up gangways in several places. In many cases, shuttle buses were required to get from the ship to the port gate. This was worst in Lima, when only two smaller and one larger shuttle bus were provided, causing many people to give up on leaving the ship after lining up an hour. NCL Guest Services kept saying "not our fault" but why then are they calling on these ports if they can't handle the pax? Of course the ship-sponsored shore-ex busus came dockside... of course they did.
The best port was Cartagena, but we had that cut short to be first-in-line at the Panama Canal. HAL's Zuiderdam arrived at the canal sixhours after us, to be second-in-line.
The ship's stabilsers were not functioning properly and this made for a wild last night at sea (Coquimbo--San Antonio). Read Less

This was our fifth cruise on the Sun. For her age and size she is a great little ship.
Not so small as to get bored or to big to get lost. It does'nt take long to discover your favorite bars ans restaurants and develope a personal ... Read More

This was our fifth cruise on the Sun. For her age and size she is a great little ship.
Not so small as to get bored or to big to get lost. It does'nt take long to discover your favorite bars ans restaurants and develope a personal relationship with the excellent staff.
We always get the beverage package and specialty dining package for all nights.
We booked our own excursions in all the ports and did not have any problems.
The Winsjammer piano bar was our favorite bar and Le Bistro was our restaurant of choice three times.
We always try for a balcony cabin midship on deck 10 as it is convienient to deck 11 for the pool and the great outdoors bar and seating area.
This was our 15th cruise with Norwegian and we have already booked our next two cruises on the Breakaway. We will be back! Read Less

Why this cruise? Because it was there! A fantastic opportunity to visit four South American countries and the "bonus" of daylight transit of the Panama Canal.
Embarkation was quite tedious -- two hours in a line moving at ... Read More

Why this cruise? Because it was there! A fantastic opportunity to visit four South American countries and the "bonus" of daylight transit of the Panama Canal.
Embarkation was quite tedious -- two hours in a line moving at the speed of molasses. But the building was quite hot, so the molasses flowed reasonably well. Once on board, things were fine.
Cabin: Inside, forward. Biggest drawback was being on Deck 6a (sort of like Platform 9 3/4, kinda hard to get to), no elevator access -- had to either go up or down flight of stairs to reach it. Night #3. in rough seas, there was a continuous random banging thud against our back wall -- as if a pair of tennis shoes were looped around an invisible staircase behind the wall. They moved us to a different cabin seven doors down that night. All was well afterwards. Worst part was losing our cabin steward, Milos, who became my instructor in Bosnian for the rest of the voyage. Our new cabin, and steward Mingxu, were excellent.
The cabin itself was certainly adequate, though shower was a bit cramped (my fault -- must diet!). TV was a tad fuzzy, but did not use it much anyway. Housekeeping was excellent.
Dining: Yum! We ate most of our meals at the buffet -- always a wide selection of choices, regardless of breakfast/lunch/dinner. And GOOD! We ate several dinner meals at the Four Seasons restaurant: Maitre d' on top of my wife's food allergy -- always attentive and careful. Much slower than the buffet, of course, but nice to have a "civilized" meal now and then. Choice of private table or shared table (with random pairing of passengers). We much preferred that and met some wonderful people: U.S., Canadian, French, Chilean, etc. Speaking of which, this was a very diverse set of passengers, much more than I expected. Chinese, Japanese, German, Spanish, in addition to the above dinner-mates. Many many languages could be heard throughout the voyage.
Entertainment/activities: A wide range of fun stuff: trivia games, "game show" formats, etc. Music by Jonathan in the Windjammer Bar was a special treat. Our biggest complaint about the activities was a total lack of educational sessions. Visiting four countries and virtually nothing in terms of historical overviews or lectures about the cultures, histories, etc, of any of them. Quite disappointing and a waste of opportunity. Many of our new friends on board felt the same way. NCL would be well-advised to add some kind of regular educational effort. We would rather spend a half hour learning something than a half hour trivia session about airport identification or dog breeds.
Shore excursions: Wow! Excellent! Pricey, but there was some comfort in knowing that if the bus was late getting back to the ship, the ship was not going to leave without us! (Indeed, at one port, a passenger who had taken off on his/her own, did not make it back before departure and had to fly to the next port at their own expense!).
All the tourguides, without exception, spoke excellent English, and were obviously proud of their country and culture. However NCL chooses local tours, it works -- keep it up!
Don't forget to keep a bunch of $5 or $10 or whatever bills on hand for tips at the end of the excursion -- they ALL deserved it!
Disembarkation was also tedious: the staff "controlling" it didn't. She divided the large room into three sections -- called for the first section to leave, and promptly forgot to call the other two and set other groups loose at the same time. No control over who was being herded out the back door, so the whole thing got bottled up quickly. But once off the boat and on our day-long excursion/airport transfer bus to Santiago, all was well.
Overall, a wonderful experience, despite the concerns above. We will sail with NCL again in a heartbeat -- just as soon as we save up for another. Read Less

Everyone continuing from the previous cruise were sick and we all got sick from them. I was sick for 18 days and as soon as i got home was in the hospital for 8 days. This is the second cruise on the Sun in two years and both times i got ... Read More

Everyone continuing from the previous cruise were sick and we all got sick from them. I was sick for 18 days and as soon as i got home was in the hospital for 8 days. This is the second cruise on the Sun in two years and both times i got sick. Never again on Norwegian and I have taken 117 cruises on many lines. I used to love Norwegian when they had the NOrway. Traveled on it 8 times. Sad to see it retired several years ago. The food in the dining room was adequate and expected. The alternative restaurants were excellent. The production shows were less than amateurs - really bad. I am sorry that the Norwegian experience was so bad since their pricing was better than most. I guess the old adage applies here that you get what you pay for. Give my Celebrity Cruises anytime and forever! Read Less

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